| National Council of Provinces | |
|---|---|
| 25th Parliament / 4th Democratic Parliament | |
| Type | |
| Type | Upper house of Parliament of South Africa |
| Leadership | |
| Chairperson | M. J. Mahlangu, ANC since 2004 |
| Leader of the Opposition | Watty Watson, DA |
| Structure | |
| Members | 90 |
| Elections | |
| Voting system | Indirect proportional representation from provincial legislatures |
| Last election | 6 May 2009 |
| Meeting place | |
| NCOP Chamber, Houses of Parliament, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa | |
| Website | |
| National Council of Provinces | |
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the (post-apartheid) constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate, but is very similar to that body, and to many other upper houses of legislatures throughout the world, in that its purpose is to represent the governments of the provinces, rather than directly representing the people.[1]
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| South Africa | ||
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Election to the NCOP is indirect: citizens vote for provincial legislatures, and each legislature then nominates a delegation of ten members to the NCOP. (Thus, each of South Africa's nine provinces has equal representation in the Council regardless of population.) Each provincial delegation consists of six permanent delegates, who are nominated for a term that lasts until a new provincial legislature is elected, and four special delegates.[2] One of the special delegates is the province's Premier, or another member of the provincial legislature designated by the Premier, while the other three special delegates are designated ad hoc by the provincial legislature. The party representation in the delegation must proportionally reflect the party representation in the provincial legislature, according to a formula included in the Constitution.[2] A delegation from the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), which represents the municipalities, may also attend sittings of the NCOP, but may not vote.
After the elections of 22 April 2009, the makeup of the NCOP was as follows:
| Party | Delegate type | EC | FS | G | KZN | L | M | NW | NC | WC | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| African National Congress | Permanent | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 35 | 62 | |
| Special | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 27 | |||
| Democratic Alliance | Permanent | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 13 | ||
| Special | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Congress of the People | Permanent | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 8 | |||
| Special | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Independent Democrats | Permanent | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Special | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Inkatha Freedom Party | Permanent | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Special | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Freedom Front Plus | Special | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| United Christian Democratic Party | Special | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| United Democratic Movement | Special | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Total | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 90 | |||
The NCOP may consider, amend, propose amendments to, or reject legislation. It must consider all national bills, and also has the power to initiate legislation in the functional areas where Parliament and the provincial legislatures have concurrent legislative power ("Schedule 4 areas").[1]
The NCOP has three decision-making mechanisms depending on the type of bill:[3]
In considering Section 74 and 76 bills, each delegation must vote in accordance with a mandate approved by the provincial legislature that it represents.[4]
The following people have served as Chairperson of the NCOP:[5]
| Name | Term | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Patrick Lekota | 6 February 1997–21 June 1999 | ANC |
| Naledi Pandor | 21 June 1999–4 May 2004 | ANC |
| Joyce Kgoali | 4 May 2004–21 November 2004 | ANC |
| M. J. Mahlangu | 21 November 2004–present (acting to 17 January 2005) | ANC |
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